He Was There
by DNAisUnique
Summary: MAJOR SPOILERS for the Season 6 promo! See how actions affect everyone?


**Spoilers for anything through the season 6 promo! I, like many of you, hope that it's just some clever editing, however **_**if**_** it's true, it will make for some angsty, albeit interesting storylines. Perhaps this is one of them. **

**Thanks for the feedback, favorites, and alerts for my other fics. Enjoy!**

**VVVVV**

Adam Ross nervously ran his hand through his hair as he paced the floor of 'his' lab. He _really_ needed some advice, he just didn't know who he could talk to. They were all still trying to cope with Jess's death, but understandably, Flack was having the most difficult time. Flack certainly didn't need to deal with Adam's relationship problems. Talking to Hawkes or Sid would just feel too weird. Lindsay wouldn't do either; she had an infant and a critically wounded husband to care for. And Adam's issue was more of a guy thing, anyway. Asking Mac was definitely out of the question, seeing as how Adam's problem involved Stella. But the ideal person to ask--the one he would usually go to with this sort of stuff anyway--was fighting his own battles, having to do so from a wheelchair. And though he felt bad for doing so, he found himself dialing Danny's number.

"Messer."

"Dan-Danny, it's Adam. How're you feeling?" _Not the wisest word choice,_ Adam scolded himself silently.

Danny sighed. "Eh, you know how it is. I hate this thing, but at least I'm on this side of the grass."

"That's good," Adam replied, not hearing a thing Danny'd said. "Look, I know you've got a lot on your plate and all, but, uh," he continued to pace and run his hand through his hair, "could I ask you something?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"What do you think about having a relationship with someone you work with?"

Danny chuckled. "I'm married to someone I work with. How do you think I feel about it?"

Adam chuckled nervously. "Good point. I hadn't thought about that…"

"Are you dating someone who works at the lab?" Danny asked.

"Well," Adam cleared his throat, "I don't know that I would call it dating so much as I slept with someone."

"Woohoo!" Danny yelled loud enough to make Adam pull the phone away from his ear. "So what's the problem?"

"Well, it's…complicated," Adam offered. "And awkward. I don't know what to say or do around her."

"There's always the chance that you won't see her much. The lab's a pretty big place."

"She's a CSI, Danny."

"You slept with the new girl?" Danny exclaimed. "Marking your territory from the beginning! Good for you, buddy."

"Not the new girl," Adam supplied, feeling sick to his stomach.

"Then who?" Danny asked confused.

"Stella. I slept with Stella."

A noise behind him caught him off guard. He had no clue anyone else was in the room with him. He spun toward the noise and caught a glimpse of Mac storming down the hall away from him.

"Adam?" Danny yelled. "Are you there, man?"

"I think I'm gonna get fired, Danny."

"No, don't say that."

"Mac just heard me say that to you," Adam replied numbly.

"Oh, shit."

VVVVV

Mac fumed as he furiously pushed open his office door, the glass vibrating as the hinges were pushed to the max.

He punched the numbers on his phone angrily, misdialing twice before finally connecting to the right number.

"Bonasera."

"We need to talk. My office. Now," he declared, not giving her a chance to speak before he hung up.

Stella pushed open the door a few minutes later, her own anger boiling just below the surface.

"What the hell were you thinking, sleeping with Adam?"

"First of all," she said, curls bouncing wildly as she tried, unsuccessfully, to contain her anger, "that's none of your business, and secondly, how the hell did you find out about that?"

"Anything that happens in my lab is my business, Stella," he spat, coming around the desk and standing well-within her personal space.

"What I do on my time is my own business, Mac," she spat back, stepping even closer to him.

"Not when it compromises the efficiency of the employees. I'm in charge of this lab, and I won't have employees who can't keep their professional and personal lives separate."

"Are you firing me, Mac?" It was a dare.

"I just thought that after Frankie, you would have learned that office romances tend to end badly."

"What the _hell_ did you just say to me?" Stella asked through clenched teeth, hurt that he would bring that up.

"That sleeping with someone you work with isn't the wisest idea."

"Yeah, why don't we call up Peyton and ask her about that?" Stella shot back, angrier than she'd been in quite some time.

Less than a foot separated them as they stood face-to-face, yet they continued to yell."

Peyton has nothing to do with this!"

"And neither does Frankie!"

Finally, the reality of the situation sank in, and Mac took a step backward, visibly calming himself.

"You're right," he told her. "I shouldn't have brought him up. I'm sorry."

"You should be," Stella replied, crossing her arms over her chest, still fuming. "Are we done here?"

"Why?" Mac asked, leaning against his desk.

"Because I've got work to do, and I can't let my _efficiency_ suffer."

"I meant…why Adam?"

Stella studied Mac for a moment, then finally sighed. "He was there."

"What about me, Stella? I've always been there."

Stella chuckled wryly. "But you never acted on it. Hell, Mac," she said as she started to pace in front of him, "this is more passion than I've seen from you since…I don't know when." She came to a stop in front of him and stared deep into his eyes. "Did you really expect me to wait for you forever?"

When Mac didn't answer right away, Stella's lips pressed into a thin line, and she nodded curtly before turning to leave.

"I'm sorry, Stella," he said as she reached for the door handle.

"Yeah," she said sadly, turning back to him, "me, too, Mac."

**VVVVV**

**Thanks for reading! I'd appreciate any feedback you have to offer, since I don't write much angst.**

**For the record, I really hope the writers haven't put Stella and Adam together. I'm SMacked through-and-through. A little angst is good though. I'm happy with this the way it is, and therefore I don't plan on adding to it.**


End file.
